One or more embodiments of the subject matter described herein generally relate to the electrodeposition of dielectric and/or polymer materials onto a conductive substrate to form composite assemblies for electrical connectors.
Known industries such as the automotive industry use electrocoating, or “e-coating,” to provide protection to metal components, such as protection from corrosion and acids. Electrocoating also is used to aesthetically enhance the appearance of metallic components. In general, e-coating systems deposit polymers onto metallic substrates using electricity, or a voltage differential between the metallic substrates and a liquid bath that includes the polymers.
Growing demands for miniaturization, improved performance, and reduced cost and weight of electronic components has driven intense research for novel materials and manufacturing processes to meet these demands. In order to improve signal quality in high speed electrical connectors, capacitive elements may be included along or near the signal path in the connector and/or at a mating interface between the connector and another mating connector. For example, some known connectors are mounted onto circuit boards with capacitors mounted onto the printed circuit board adjacent to the connectors and along the signal path extending from the connector and through the circuit board. Adding discrete capacitors to circuit boards, however, consumes additional areas of the limited available surface area on the circuit board.
Other known connectors include a separate, discrete capacitor that is coupled to the signal paths in the connectors using known manufacturing methods, such as solder. Joining a separate capacitor to the signal path, however, may lead to problems in matching the electrical impedance of the signal path with the impedance through the capacitor and circuit board. Additionally, solder may introduce risks of reliability concerns as the joint between the solder and the signal path of the connectors can be brittle and easy to break.
Some known capacitive elements are created by covering a conductive tape with a thin film of dielectric material. Adhesion of the dielectric material to the conductive tape is generally poor, thereby resulting in delamination of the dielectric material from the conductive tape. Additionally, the dispersion of the dielectric material on the tape may be uneven, resulting in an inhomogeneous dispersion of the dielectric material on the tape.
Electric insulation is needed in some applications to prevent conduction of current between metallic conductors. In some known manufacturing processes, injection molding, overmolding, and/or dip coating is used to provide insulation on the conductors. These known processes, however, may be insufficient for some products due to dimensional tolerance control limits, the relatively high cost involved in the processes, and/or inadequate control over the thicknesses of the coatings. Additionally, some known coatings are heavier and/or thicker than desired in order to provide sufficient insulation performance. With respect to injection molded articles that may be used as an insulative coating, the articles generally are too large for many applications as the minimum wall thickness of the articles tends to be relatively large.
A need exists to provide a composite assembly and method of manufacturing the composite assembly that provides an inherent or integrated capacitive element for a signal path of an electrical connector. A need also exists for a composite assembly and method of manufacturing the assembly that provides insulation and/or protection for conductive members without the increased weight, cost, and tolerances associated with some known manufacturing processes.